Jim Jordan Raises Alarm over Chinese Drone Spying

Update from DJI: DJI’s products are capable of meeting all of the recommendations outlined by CISA in its May 20 alert, which were created in large part based on DJI’s long-term collaboration with U.S. federal agencies to develop strong drone data security features and industry best practices for our government and critical infrastructure customers. As part of that work, the security of our technology has been independently verified by the U.S. government and leading U.S. businesses. Further, the speculation outlined in the 2017 memorandum was proven false by an independent security review. We give all customers full and complete control over how their data is collected, stored, and transmitted. We have outlined these best practices for all DJI customers on our website.

Original article below:

House Oversight and Reform Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Reps. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Jody Hice (R-GA) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kevin McAleenan on Thursday, warning about the prospect of Chinese-made drone spying.

Ranking member Jordan, Government Operations subcommittee ranking member Meadows, and National Security subcommittee ranking member Hice, sent a letter, obtained by Breitbart News, to McAleenan on Thursday, requesting information regarding a DHS alert that Chinese-made drones could be “used to collect and exfiltrate sensitive data out of the United States.”

According to a DHS alert, the three House conservatives said that Chinese-made unmanned aerial systems (UAS) [drones] “pose a ‘potential risk of an organization’s information.'”

Jordan’s letter continues:

This alert follows a 2017 memorandum from another DHS entity– Homeland Security Investigations– that warned that UAS sold by Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, likely provided sensitive law-enforcement and critical infrastructure information to the Chinese government.

The report did not name any specific manufacturers; however, nearly 80 percent of the drones used in the U.S. and Canada came from DJI, according to one industry analyst.

“The United States government has strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access,” the alert stated.

The alert continued:

Those concerns apply with equal force to certain Chinese-made (unmanned aircraft systems)-connected devices capable of collecting and transferring potentially revealing data about their operations and the individuals and entities operating them, as China imposes unusually stringent obligations on its citizens to support national intelligence activities.

The House conservatives’ letter to the DHS arises as many lawmakers have become increasingly concerned about China’s ability to spy using Chinese technology.